Hoosain was standing in front of his cab Sunday about 2 a.m., on East 26th Street between Lexington and Third avenues, when an SUV slammed into the back of the double-parked taxi, knocking the vehicle into him.

"This guy is free. How come?" said Hoosain's 41-year-old brother, who is also named Mir Hoosain and lives in London. "We want justice."

Fellow cab drivers and representatives from the Taxi Workers Alliance contend that the 42-year-old driver was speeding in his Nissan Pathfinder when he hit the taxi, based on extensive damage to the SUV.

Police would not disclose the driver's speed. No arrests have been made, and police said they did not suspect any criminality.

Friends remembered Hoosain as a hardworking man who was studying to become a dentist.

"He had a bright future," said Mohammad Alam, 53, a cab driver who lives in Elmhurst, Queens. "He was very humble."

Alam added that Hoosain moved to the United States in 1997 from Bangladesh and recently became an American citizen.

Hoosain's former roommate Sajjad Matin, 42, who had a leg amputated after being struck by a drunk driver last February, mourned the loss of his friend as he held onto his walker in the freezing cold.

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